Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas

Also Called:

Daylight Driller,

Drill Operator,

Driller,

Tool Pusher

What they do: Set up or operate a variety of drills to remove underground oil and gas, or remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.

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Architecture & Construction

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Train crews, and introduce procedures to make drill work more safe and effective.
  • Observe pressure gauge and move throttles and levers to control the speed of rotary tables, and to regulate pressure of tools at bottoms of boreholes.
  • Count sections of drill rod to determine depths of boreholes.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Stress Tolerance

Cautiousness

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Perseverance

Leadership Orientation

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Knowledge

People who want to pursue this career have knowledge in these areas.

Engineering and Technology

  • Mechanical

Math and Science

  • Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics

Business

  • Management

  • Human resources (hr)

Education and Training

  • Teaching and course design

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Hand and Finger Use

  • Hold or move items with your hands

  • Keep your arm or hand steady

Controlled Movement

  • Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat

  • Use your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down

Verbal

  • Communicate by speaking

  • Listen and understand what people say

Ideas and Logic

  • Notice when problems happen

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Work Values

Work values describe how your core beliefs align with those commonly needed for this career.

Support

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Relationships

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Independence

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research
  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career
2. Plan your next move
  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop